Winding and unwinding apparatus



March 23, FRANKEL WINDING AND UNWINDING APPARATUS 3 SheetsSheet 1 Filed June 13, 1962 INVENTOR. Sidney Frankel ATTORNEYS March 23, 1965 s. FRANKEL 3,174,701

WINDING AND UNWINDING APPARATUS -Filed June 13, 1962 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 F G 5 "INVENTOR.

Sidney Frankel ATTORNEYS March 23, 1965 s. FRANKEL WINDING AND urzwmnmc; APPARATUS 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed June 13, 1962 Fis s INVENTOR. Sidney Fronke! by M ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,174,791 WINDING AND UNWINDING APPARATUS Sidney Frankel, 318 Briarclitfe Road, Tenafly, NJ. Filed June 13, 1962, Ser. No. 202,326 6 Claims. (Cl. 242-7551) This invention relates to a means for controlling the torque applied to a winding device or to a wound reel or similar device which is being unwound.

When a reel, roll, bobbin or similar winding device is being wound or unwound the effective diameter of the winding surface gradually becomes larger or smaller. It is usually desirable or necessary to apply a predeterrniner uniform tension to the material being wound or unwound at the winding or unwinding device. The torque applied to a Winding device or the braking force applied to an unwinding roll or reel, for example, must therefor be varied in accordance with the diameter of the wound material if the torque is to be maintained substantially constant. Methods and apparatus for controlling the torque applied to such winding devices ordinarily require some control means which rides on or contacts the material being wound or unwound. Thus, a dancer roller may be provided to rotate on a loop or bight of the material being wound or unwound which loop or bight is adjacent to the winding or unwinding device. Such dancer rollers may be supported so as to move up or down as the tension applied to the material changes and the oscillating movement of the dancer roller is utilized to control or change the torque or braking action applied to the winding or unwinding package.

Other devices make use of a roller which rides on the package being wound or unwound, and the arm on which the roller is mounted changes its position as the package increases or decreases in size; the movement of the arm of the roller is utilized to control the torque or braking force applied to the package.

Since it is often desirable or necessary, in the case of freshly printed paper, for example, to avoid contact with the material being wound or unwound, it is among the objects of this invention to provide a torque control device for a winding apparatus which operates to accurately control the tension applied to the material being wound and which is independent of and avoids the requirement for any element which contacts the material as it is being wound or unwound.

Among other objects of the invention is to provide an improved tension control device for winding machines.

The objects of this invention are obtained by accelerating or braking the rotational speed of the package being wound or unwound with a magnetic clutch or brake by controlling the slippage torque in the magnetic clutch in accordance with a predetermined pattern of change of the diameter of the package. It will be understood that substantially the same magnetic device may be employed (1) as a clutch to rotate a package being wound or (2) as a brake to resist rotation of a package being unwound. Whereas certain parts of the description below describes the magnetic device as a clutch for a winding device it will be realized that the device is equally applicable as a brake for an unwinding device. The slippage between the magnetically attracted rotors of the magnetic clutch is controlled by gradually changing the magnetic attrac tion between the rotors by an adjustable speed change device and a system of speed reducing means which are operated from the output rotor of the magnetic clutch.

The invention both as to its organization and its method of operation together with additional objects and advantages thereof will best be understood from the following description of specific embodiments thereof when read in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a side cross sectional view of the apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view taken on line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a detail of a modified form of device as applied to the unwinding of paper supply rolls.

FIG. 4 is a detail view of the clutch or brake control means.

FIG. 5 is a detail view taken on line 55 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged detail cross sectional view of the clutch and setting mechanism as seen in FIG. 1.

As best shown in FIG. 2, the magnetic clutch drive or brake comprises a rotor 10 which rotates with shaft 11. Rotor It) is magnetically connected to rotor 20 which includes internal keyways for connecting it to splined shaft 21 which shaft in turn is connected to the output shaft 22, adapted to rotate with take-up shaft 24 for roll 28 by means of chain drive 25 and gears 26 and 27.

The rotor 10 acts as a clutch when shaft 11 is a driving shaft as in winding and acts as a brake when the driving torque comes from shaft 22 as in unwinding.

Rotor 10 is magnetized by means of metal ring 12 which is made of ferromagnetic material and includes an embedded coil 13 connected by means of wires 14 to a source of direct current which is varied by the means and method described below.

The front surface of the rotor 10 which is adapted to contact rotor 26 may contain a cork cushioning ring 15. The contacting faces of rotors It and Ztl are oil cooled. See my US. application Serial No. 468,692, filed November 15, 1954, now Patent No. 2,884,107. The oil cooling may be promoted by increasing the circulation of oil past the contacting faces of rotors 10 and 29 by utilizing the centrifugal force which results from the rotation of the rotors. In thi system, oil is fed to the space between the interior portion of ring 12 and rotor 10 and passes by centrifugal force, through openings 16 in the rotor and between the contacting surfaces of the rotors 10 and 20.

The splined shaft 21 also contains a gear 39 fixed thereto. This gear 3%) is connected by a train of reduction gears to the change speed device 40. In the form shown the train of reduction gearing comprises the gear 31, to the shaft 32 of which is fixed the worm 33 which rotates worm gear 34. Worrn gear 34 is fixed to shaft 35 which drives the conical roller 41 of the manually adjustable change speed device 40. The change speed mechanism, again, may be of any known construction and the particular form of change speed device shown is one of many types of change speed devices which are available commercially.

In the change speed device 40 the conical rollers 41 and 42 do not contact each other but the driven roller 42 is driven from driving roller 41 by means of a pair of rollers 43, only one shown in FIG. 1, the other being on the opposite side of rollers 41, 42. Rollers 43 are each pressed into contact with both conical rollers 41 and 42 by suitable means. The position of the rollers 43, along the axes of conical rollers 41, 42 is manually adjustable by some such means as the crank 47. It will readily be seen that when rollers 4% are adjacent the large diameter of roller 41, the roller 42 will be driven at a relatively high peripheral speed whereas when the rollers 43 are adjacent the smaller end of roller 41 the roller 42 will be driven at a relatively low peripheral speed. The change speed drive 41, 42, 43, etc. provide for an adjustability that does not form a part of the invention and which may be omitted in devices which are custom made for one particular size of winding or un- Winding device. The rate of current build up may be adjusted by manually changing the position of rollers 43 on rollers 41, 42. The shaft 48 of driven roller 42 includes the pulley or sprocket 50 which is connected by means of belt 51 to the pulley or sprocket 52 of the current control device '53. The sprocket 52 is connected to the current control 53 through the overrunning clutch 54. As shown in FIG. 6, the sprocket 52 is adapted to rotate freely on shaft 58. The sprocket 52 connects to a concentric ring attachment 52, which surrounds the rollers 54' of clutch 54 and retains said rollers 54' between the serrated clutch disk 54" and said ring 52'. If the sprocket 52, for example, rotates clockwise the ring 1' will cause the shaft 58 and contact element 53 of device 53 to turn with the sprocket. At any time, however, the arm 55' may be moved counterclockwise to return contact element 53' to a starting position Without affecting the motion of pulley or sprocket 52. The degree to which the outer end of arm 55 can move in a counterclockwise direction, even though the collar to which the arm is at tached is loosely mounted on its shaft, is limited by the stop 57 of the Bowden wire or push-pull control device 56 which in turn may be connected to a roller changing or reel changing device. The push-pull or Bowden wire control device and arm 55 are shown in FIG. 3 in the starting position. As the winding or unwinding proceeds, the arm 55 will move away from the adjustable stop 57 of the Bowden wire control device 56. Due to the reduction gearing, etc., the total rotationalmovernent of sprocket 52, the device 53 and arm 55 will be approximately 90 or less. Then, when the winding or unwind- .ing rolls are changed the arm 55 and the voltage control device controlled by arm 53 is returned to the starting position by suitable means to be described.

In the device shown in FIG. 3, the roll 66' mounted in the shaft 60' is being unwound and rolls of material for unwinding 61 and 62 have been loaded onto shafts 61".

and 62", respectively, so as to be rotated (clockwise) into position for unwinding in their turn. Thus, when shaft 60 is exhaustedthe three 'star holder 59 will be rotated about its shaft in a clockwise direction to position roll 61 for unwinding. Since rolls 6'1 and 62 are not exactly of the same diameter, the setting of the electric control means 53' must be returned to" a different starting position for each roll. The means shown in FIG. 3 is adapted to reset the electric control means 53' each time a new roll is brought into position for unwinding.

As already indicated, the shaft 58 is mounted so that it can be rotated in a counterclockwise direction (as shown iniF IG. 3) only by the gear 52 by means of the ring 52 and the overrunni'ng clutch. At the same time, the overrunning clutch permits rotation of the shaft 58 in a clockwise direction without affecting the gear 52, etc. Rotatably mounted on the shaft 58 is the sector plate 71. Thissector plate 71 contains a stop 57 mounted thereon adapted to make contact with arm 55 which is fixed to the shaft 58. The angular position of the sector plate 71 with respect to shaft 58 when the sector plate is free to move is determined by' the push-pull mechanism 70, 74, 75 which may be similar to a Bowden wire control device. Ordinarily, however, the sector plate 71 is fixed in position by the brake mechanism 80, 81. The means '81 is a jack-pot type of control', the brake shoe 80 being ordinarily spring pressed but being released.

against the action of the spring (not shown) when'the jack-pot means of device 81 is energized.

;As shown in FIG. 3, the switch arm 81 is pivotally mounted at :82 and spring pressed, by means not shown,

ly mounted at 73. Arm 72 will be pivoted to the left as shown in FIG. 3 by an amount which is dependent on the radius of the material contained by roll 61. Arm 72 is connected to one end ofv the push-pull pressure device 74, the opposite end of pressure device 74 and the line 70 connected thereto being in a relatively fixed position. The pressure applied to the bellows device 74 by arm 72 is, therefore, transmitted to the analogous bellows device 75 and to sector plate 71 to which the movable end of bellows device 75 is attached. Approximately, at the same time that shaft 61 moves past the end of arm 81 releasing brake 80, the roller 76 passes from under the influence of the perimeter of roll 61 and the sector 71 with its stop mechanism 57 fixed in place. Be-

fore the end of the material on roll 61 is fixed to the end of the material left by the previous roll 60, the arm 55 is moved, manually or by suitable automatic means, into contact with stop 57 and the tensioning means already described is ready for operation again. It will be realized that no great movement of the sector plate 71 is ordinarily required.

In operation, the output shaft 22 of the device is con nected to rotate the spool or roller to be rewound or hold back the roller being unwound; in rewinding, the shaft 22 is being rotated at a somewhat slower speed than the drive shaft 11 due to the slippage between the rotors 10 and 20 of the magnetic clutch. With the oil cooled 7 magnetic clutch shown, the driven rotor 10, 11 may be to normally maintain contacts 83, 84 in open position;

This arm 81, however, is mounted in the path that shaft j 61'follows when the 3-starho'ld'er 59 is rotated. When said holder rotates, therefore, the switch 83, 84 is closed energizing jack-pot device 81 through circuit 85 and releasing brake 80. As the holder 59 continues to rotate, the roll 61 contacts roller 76 of arm 72 which is pivotaldriven at a uniform speed or at a gradually decreased speed when a package is being wound or at a gradually increasing speed when a package is being unwound. Assume that paper or yarn is wound by the shaft 22. As the paper or yarn builds up on the winding device the back pull of the yarn or paper operates at greater leverage or at a further distance from the axis of the winding device so that even though the actual rotation of the output shaft 22 is slower due to the build up yarn or paper on the winding device, in order to achieve constant tension, the magnetic attraction between the rotors 10 and 20 needs to be increased. Therefore, the reduction gearing 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, the change speed device 40 and the pulleys 50, 52 with belt 51 all cooperate to rotate the current regulating device 53 to proportionately increase the rnagnet ic attraction between rotors 10 and 20. When the windingris complete the Bowden wire mechanism 55, 56; 57 is operated to return the current control mechanism to its starting position. In cases where a material is being unwound, substantially the opposite effect is obtained.

The above arrangement'is very satisfactory when the device is being employed as a clutch to drive winding rolls (since the cores are of the same diameter when empty) or when employed as a brake to control tension in the unwinding of rolls of identical diameters, since the point of initial'starting of the current devices for each roll may be constant. When employed as a brake for unwinding rolls of varying diameter, however, an attachment similar to that shown in FIG. 3 is desirable. In this figure, a commercially available unwinding device such as a Kohler unwinder or a Klain unwinder may be employed. In such a device, a roll of paper 60 is being unwound and when roll 60 is about finished the roll 61 is rotated to the position for unwinding and an automatic splicing means connects the end of the sheet of paper, for

' example, on roll 61 to the endof the sheet on roll 60.

The exact method and means by which this is done does not form a part of the present invention and is not shown in detail. In such a device, the roll 60, 61 or 62 is braked or tension-controlled by the belt 64, pulleys 60, 61' or 62', drive belts or other drive means 65 and sprocket or pulley 66. The tension on pulley 66 is controlled by the device of the invention. It is important, therefore, to set the tension at the start of the unwinding of each roll in accordance with the diameter of the roll.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my application Serial No. 505,884, filed May 4, 1955 now abandoned.

The features and principles underlying the invention described above in connection with specific exemplifications will suggest to those skilled in the art many other modifications thereof. It is accordingly desired that the appended claims shall not be limited to any specific feature or details thereof.

I claim:

1. In a winding apparatus for applying a substantially uniform tension to a linearly moving linear material one end of which is at least partly Wound on a reel device, the combination comprising a magnetic clutch means comprising input and output rotor shafts each having a magnetizable element aifixed thereto, adapted to connect a source of power to said reel device,

one of said input and output rotor shafts being connectable to said source of power and the other being connected to said reel device,

speed reducing means also connected to that one of said input and output rotor shafts which is connected to said reel device,

direct current supply means for magnetizing one of said magnetizable rotor elements,

current control means for gradually changing the magnetic current supplied by said direct current supply means so as to change the magnetic attraction between the magnetizable rotor elements, and

means connecting the output of said speed reducing means to the current control means whereby to gradually change the magnetic attraction between the magnetizable rotor elements and to apply the greatest magnetic attraction when the reel device is substantially filled and the least magnetic attraction when the reel device is substantially unwound.

2. The device as set forth in claim 1 in which the means connecting the speed reducing means to the current control device includes a speed change device whereby the rate at which the attraction between the rotors is changed can be varied.

3. In a winding apparatus for applying a substantially uniform tension to a linearly moving linear material one end of which is at least partly wound on a reel device the combination comprising a magnetic clutch means comprising input and output rotor shafts, each having a magnetizable element afiixed thereto, adapted to connect a source of power to said reel device,

one of said input and output rotor shafts being connectable to said source of power and the other being connected to said reel device,

speed reducing means also connected to that one of said input and output rotor shafts which is connected to said reel device,

direct current supply means for magnetizing one of said magnetizable rotor elements,

current control means comprising a rotatable shaft for gradually changing the magnetic current supplied by said direct current supply means so as to change the magnetic attraction between the magnetizable rotor elements,

means connecting the output of said speed reducing means to the current control means whereby to gradually change the magnetic attraction between the rotors and to apply the greatest magnetic attraction when the reel device is substantially filled and the least magnetic attraction when the reel device is substantially unwound, and

means connecting the output of said speed change device to the rotatable shaft of said current control means.

4. The device as set forth in claim 3 in which said rotatable shaft is connected to said current control means through an overrunning clutch device whereby the said magnetic current changing means can be rotated back to a previously held position without disturbing the rotation of said rotatable shaft.

5. The device as claimed in claim 3 comprising lever means mounted to rotate with the driven member of said overrunning clutch, stop means for said lever adapted to limit the back rotation of said driven member of said overrunning clutch, rotatable reel changing means, and

means for returning said lever to said stop means by the rotation of said reel changing means.

6. A winding apparatus comprising a first rotatable means for supporting a removable supply reel containing linear material to be unwound, a second rotatable means for supporting a second removable supply reel of linear material to be unwound after the unwinding of the reel on said first rotatable means is completed, magnetic clutch means comprising an input rotor and an output rotor adapted to connect a source of power to said first and second rotatable means, direct current supply means for magnetizing one of said rotor elements, current regulating means comprising a rotatable element movable through an angle of less than 360 gradually change in the course of its rotation, the magnetic current supplied by said direct current supply means so as to change the magnetic attraction between said rotors, means for rotatably mounting said rotating element including an overrunning clutch whereby the rotating element is free to be rotated in one direction, speed reducing means connected to the output rotor shaft, means connecting the output of said speed reducing means to the rotatable element of the current control means through said overrunning clutch whereby said rotatable element is rotated in one direction to change the magnetic attraction between the rotors and to apply the greatest magnetic attraction when the reel being unwound is substantially filled and the least magnetic attraction when the reel is substantially unwound, lever means fixed to said rotatable element, stop means adapted to limit the rotation of said lever, pivotal means for holding the stop for said lever, and means adapted to be moved into contact with the outside surface of the second removable supply reel to operate said pivotal means whereby to control the stop position for the said lever in accordance with the diameter of said second supply reel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,237,112 Parvin Apr. 1, 1941 2,317,290 McIlvried Apr. 20, 1943 2,680,573 Monkley June 8, 1954 

1. IN A WINDING APPARATUS FOR APPLYING A SUBSTANTIALLY UNIFORM TENSION TO A LINEARLY MOVING LINEAR MATERIAL ONE END OF WHICH IS AT LEAST PARTLY WOUND ON A REEL DEVICE, THE COMBINATION COMPRISING A MAGNETIC CLUTCH MEANS COMPRISING INPUT AND OUTPUT ROTOR SHAFTS EACH HAVING A MAGNETIZABLE ELEMENT AFFIXED THERETO, ADAPTED TO CONNECT A SOURCE OF POWER TO SAID REEL DEVICE, ONE OF SAID INPUT AND OUTPUT ROTOR SHAFTS BEING CONNECTABLE TO SAID SOURCE OF POWER AND THE OTHER BEING CONNECTED TO SAID REEL DEVICE, SPEED REDUCING MEANS ALSO CONNECTED TO THAT ONE OF SAID INPUT AND OUTPUT ROTOR SHAFTS WHICH IS CONNECTED TO SAID REEL DEVICE, DIRECT CURRENT SUPPLY MEANS FOR MAGNETIZING ONE OF SAID MAGNETIZABLE ROTOR ELEMENTS, CURRENT CONTROL MEANS FOR GRADUALLY CHANGING THE MAGNETIC CURRENT SUPPLIED BY SAID DIRECT CURRENT SUPPLY MEANS SO AS TO CHANGE THE MAGNETIC ATTRACTION BETWEEN THE MAGNETIZABLE ROTOR ELEMENTS, AND MEANS CONNECTING THE OUTPUT OF SAID SPEED REDUCING MEANS TO THE CURRENT CONTROL MEANS WHEREBY TO GRADUALLY CHANGE THE MAGNETIC ATTRACTION BETWEEN THE MAGNETIZABLE ROTOR ELEMENTS AND TO APPLY THE GREATEST MAGNETIC ATTRACTION WHEN THE REEL DEVICE IS SUBSTANTIALLY FILLED AND THE LEAST MAGNETIC ATTRACTION WHEN THE REEL IS SUBSTANTIALLY UNWOUND. 